Harry had a lot of time to himself to think. At meals by himself, studying in the library in a secluded corner with no one to help him, laying in bed alone at night, watching his old friends talk without him, and watching Susan from a distance.

She caught him watching a few times, but he always looked away, and she never said anything to him. He cringed every time he heard someone talk about her in the halls or say something bad to her face. He was confused to say the least. Here she was, the cause of all his current problems, but he felt awful for her. Whoever the father was, he wasn't taking responsibility for her, and she wasn't getting any help fending off the cruel remarks being tossed at her so casually. If Harry had learned one thing in life, it was that you could not unsay a cruel word. But you could say as many kind ones as you wanted, and people were not choosing the latter.

It was when he heard the word ‘slut' come out of Justin Finch Fletchy's mouth that he decided to take a stand. Susan stood there crying, clutching her books to her growing belly, and people around her laughed, aside from Luna, who looked pale.

"Why don't you say that to me Justin?" Harry said, dropping his book bag on the corridor floor. Justin sneered and the hall quieted, aside from the sound of Susan's tears and Luna trying to comfort her.

"Why didn't you just keep it in your pants Potter? Don't see the rest of us going around knocking up younger girls, do you? And she was a slut to sleep with you, wasn't she?"

"One more time Justin," Harry warned, fists clenched at his sides.

Justin smirked. "Slut." A laugh had just escaped his throat when he found himself being slammed hard into a wall. The crowd scattered as Harry pummeled Justin. He felt the boy's nose cracking under his fist, and then a rib, and there was blood everywhere. Somebody was hitting Harry from behind, or many somebody's, but he wasn't stopping. They could say what they wanted about him, but she didn't deserve that.

Finally he was pulled clear of the fray and was being restrained by professor August, the seventh year Apparation instructor. Justin lay on the floor, dazed and starting to bruise, and Harry looked to the left to find Snape restraining several of Justin's friends, some of them older than Harry, who had been trying to beat Harry off of Justin.

"What happened here?" August was asking, but Harry felt dazed too, as if someone else had temporarily inhabited his body. He had never initiated a fight before, and seeing Justin lying there now, as he so often had himself, he felt ashamed, as if he had become uncle Vernon. He felt weak and out of steam and didn't struggle against the strong arms holding him.

"Potter went bezerk!" one of Justin's seventh year friends shouted angrily.

"Yeah, he just tackled him and started to pummel him!"

"And what did Mr. Finch Fletchy do to deserve such an attack?" Snape was asking, but to Harry the voices seemed distant as he allowed his guilt to eat at him. Uncle Vernon, Uncle Vernon, I'm just like him. I'm a jerk, he thought.

There was silence, and then Luna spoke up from somewhere to his right. "He called Susan a slut sir. Three times."

All eyes turned to Harry now, and Severus noted how bad the boy looked. Almost as bad as Justin. For someone who wasn't responsible for Susan, who had never even spoken to her before, he displayed an extraordinary penchant for protecting her.

"Is that true Potter?"

Harry came to himself suddenly and looked up.

"Potter, is it true?" August was asking him.

"Yes sir," he said, a sadness leaking through his voice that Severus picked up on.

"Potter, Wagner, Degraw, McClaggen, you will each get one detention for fighting, and twenty five points from each of you. Mr. Finch Fletchy will be rewarded with three detentions for his disgusting remarks, as well as lose fifty house points."

"That's not fair!" Wagner, the one who had been kicking Harry's legs from behind shouted as Snape released him from the spell that held him against the wall.

"Regardless of what you think is fair Mr. Wagner, Finch Fletchy lost the choice when he chose to throw slurs at a defenseless young lady who did nothing to him."

Snape instructed Justin's friends to take him to the Hospital wing, and as they moved off, August escorting Harry to see Madam Pomfrey as well, Harry heard somebody in crows whisper, "Defenseless? Not with Potter finally coming around."

Madam Pomfrey tisked and ho hummed about students fighting as she treated Harry and Justin. It appeared that Harry had done a lot of damage, but not as much as he himself had sustained. Harry supposed it was because he was so used to feeling a damaged body, that when he got two cracked ribs, and a bruised spleen, he didn't notice.

Finally Harry was released, just before dinner, and had barely made it into the corridor before Snape was there, raking him over with his eyes again.

"Don't give me that look," Harry said without any enthusiasm.

"Potter, don't test my patience. I have been lax with you for the last month and a half, but you are not allowed to say whatever you wish to me."

Harry grit his teeth, but refrained from what he really wanted to say, which would not have been in his own best interest.

"I came to tell you that your detention is to be served tonight with Professor Sprout in greenhouse 3 at Midnight."

"Yes sir."

"Threaten all you want Potter, but if you get in a fight again, for whatever reason, you will get two detentions. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir."

Harry didn't feel like eating dinner, so he went straight to his room to start his homework. He didn't feel like enduring the stares and nasty comments he was sure to get. When he sat to start his Transfiguration reading however, he found he couldn't concentrate. Just like Vernon, just like Vernon, I'm just like Vernon. He definitely did not want to be like uncle Vernon. All he wanted was for people to take him seriously for once and to leave Susan alone. They would take him seriously now though, he hoped.

He was quiet through replanting Mandrakes with Professor Sprout at midnight, and she didn't press him to talk, for which he was thankful. The next day Harry found out just how seriously people took him.

As was so often the case now, people chattered about him as he walked past, but now they stopped when he came near enough to hear, or when he looked over at them. "Calm down Potter," Dean said as he walked by, "don't beat me up too."

Harry hung his head in shame and walked on. He hadn't made things any better on himself.

Other people expressed similar sentiments as Dean throughout the day, but he was relieved to see that nobody was giving Susan a hard time today.

"Just one more reason for you to stay the hell away from Ginny," Ron said in his ear as he passed by on his way to lunch. Harry stopped walking as Ron went into the Great Hall, and sighed. He supposed he was right. If he had lost his temper like that with Justin, who was to say what he would do around Ginny.

"Not hungry?"

Harry turned slowly to find Susan standing there, hugging herself protectively.

"Not really, no," Harry said quietly.

"Because of them?" She nodded towards the sound of laughter in the Great Hall.

"Because of me," Harry said quietly.

"I don't understand."

"I beat up Justin. I shouldn't have done that."

"Oh, I see." She looked away, and Harry frowned.

"No, I didn't mean it like that. I meant, I should have handled it differently. I don't want to rule by fear, like Voldemort."

She looked up at that and he remembered once again that people weren't used to hearing the name.

"I'm sorry about the way they're treating you," she said.

"Why?"

"Because it's cruel. I didn't mean for them to do that. I didn't think they would."

Harry shook his head. "Why did you do it then? Why did you say it was me?"

"Why did you stand up for me?"

Harry frowned. "I had to. I couldn't let them call you that."

"Then you have your answer."

With a sigh Harry resigned himself to the fact that she was not going to tell him. He also knew that she was the only other person in the castle that knew what it was like to be an outcast. He could either continue on his path alone, and let her do the same, or he could be friends with her and try to tough it out together. She certainly looked like a friend in need... or maybe he did. Either way, he was tired of going it alone.

"Want to get a bite to eat?"

She looked up at him, full eyes ready to brim with tears.

"You- you want to have lunch with me?"

"Well who am I going to eat with, Draco Malfoy?" Harry gave a short laugh then and she gave a strained smile, something he was too used to seeing now from Hermione and Ginny.

"Sounds like fun," she said, and they entered the Great Hall together, to much chatter and awe from the rest of the student body, and staff.